Second Course: Tim Maslow of Strip-T’s (and Soon, Ribelle)

Chef Tim Maslow made his name by turning his fatherâs Watertown sandwich shop, Strip-Tâs, into one of the most exciting dining destinations in the area. This spring, he brings his talents a bit closer to the cityâBrooklineâs Washington Square, to be exactâwith his second restaurant, an Italian-influenced venue called Ribelle. As he preps his new kitchen, Maslow talks us through the tools and ingredients he relies on to execute the vision at both of his eateries.

2.Â Left-handed yanagi knife:Â This sushi knife was a gift from mega chef David Chang, for whom Maslow worked as the chef de cuisine of New Yorkâs Momofuku Ssam Bar: âItâs a thin, one-sided blade thatâs for slicing fish.â

3. Left-handed deba knife: Another gift from Japan, from aÂ friend: âItâs for cleaning fish. Itâs builtÂ to ride the spine of a round fish,Â and the thick heel is made for cutting through the neck bone.â

4.Bread starter:Â When Strip-TâsÂ sous chef Dan Amighi left Bondir toÂ join Maslow, he brought some of chef Jason Bondâs nearly decade-old bread starter (nicknamed âLydiaâ) with him. âWe are experimenting with ways of using the starter as a food product, because it has this sour-apple scent about it thatâs so comforting.â

5.Â Strip-Tâs staff: âEverybody that has come to eat at Strip-Tâs has seen the quality go up when the talented staff started coming to work here.Â It gave them room to be creative, but it also gave me the freedom toÂ be creative, rather than just dealing with every day-to-day issue.â

6.Mortar and pestle:Â âI really want to make a commitment to using only hand-ground spices. We have been grinding a lot of dried roses, nigella seeds, and green coriander seeds.â

7 .Â Cayenne chili peppers:Â âThey go in the chili oil that we put into half the dishes we make. We just made ândujaâa fermented smoked sausage. We probably used a pound of the chilies for three pounds of meat. Itâs supposed to be ripping spicy.â

8. Homemade vinegars: Maslow makes a slew of vinegars (sweet flag, honey, ume, and turnip are recent examples), most of which are derived from an ale vinegar brewed with Genesee Cream. âThereâs a plethora of ways we use them, from vinaigrettes to gastriques to poaching vegetables.â

9.Triticale Flour from Four Star Farms: âWe use it in every pasta and bread that we make. We know itâsÂ been milled the day before we get it, and they deliver it every week.â

10.Preserved lemons: âThey areÂ very potent. We like to keep a small brunoise of them on the line toÂ add a punchy salt flavor with a tinyÂ bit of acid.â

11.Torshi (Iranian-style pickles) âWe found a way to pickle thingsÂ with lemon. You salt vegetables andÂ let them ferment, and then addÂ the lemon later.â